


Eva and The Winter Market

by TheWhiteShellMermaid



Series: What Witches Do For Christmas [5]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), The Worst Witch - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Snow is a spoiled brat, TW: implied abuse (nothing graphic), The Worst Witch Winter Warmers 2020, Winter Market, doesn't really involve The Worst Witch but it's part of a universe that does
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:41:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28080306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWhiteShellMermaid/pseuds/TheWhiteShellMermaid
Summary: Little Eva visits the Enchanted Forest to 'run an errand' for her grandmother and visits a winter market once she's finished.
Series: What Witches Do For Christmas [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567606
Kudos: 1





	Eva and The Winter Market

**Author's Note:**

> Well. It's been ages hasn't it? I wanted to come back with a bang, but. . .well. December is here and The Worst Witch winter warmers must be done!

  
She was finally finished with what she had come here to do. Her errand -job? - completed in record time, little Eva was able to explore a bit. Not too much, grandmother would punish her if she stayed away for too long, even though she knew Eva would always return, so long as her beloved twin Leah was there to return to. 

Now, it was winter in the Enchanted Forest, the cold season Eva had never experienced before, and she didn't much like it. Wonderland never got cold, and so she was unaccustomed to the freezing temperatures. 

She wrapped her thin red cloak tighter around herself as she trudged through a strange substance called snow, following the sounds of laughing and music. She wanted to know what was going on, it sounded like a celebration of some kind. Maybe she could have a nice story to tell her sister, rather than the usual macabre ones that they had somehow learned to laugh at. 

She soon came upon a village. There was a large market being held within, the likes of which Eva had never seen before. There were people playing music and dancing, and children running about and many different booths set up selling different things. 

Eva walked through the market with the poise of a princess. She looked at the wares, wondering if she could find something to take home to her sister. She passed a booth selling handmade soap of different scents and lingered for a moment. 

Would it be strange to get her sister soap as a gift? Probably. 

Another booth was selling fresh bread. Eva's mouth watered. She was starving, and Leah would be too. But wasn't bread boring? They got bread at home, though it was usually stale. Fresh bread would be nice. She studied all the different loaves before selecting one with cranberries. She placed it in a hastily conjured basket and dug through her satchel. 

Like their grandmother, the twins could spin straw into gold and Eva always made sure to keep some on her, as it made quite a good currency. The vendor was quite content when she held out a small spool of gold thread. 

Eva kept going, her mind wandering as she went. What were these people celebrating? Why did it have to be so cold? Would grandmother take away her purchases when she returned? Eva didn't think she had ever thought so freely before. It was wonderful; all that was missing was her sweet sister. 

Eva was so deep in her head that she didn't notice a girl about her age come up to her until she felt a hand on her arm. She gasped sharply and flinched away, her head snapping around to face the intruder. 

The girl looked surprised by Eva's reaction, but she smiled nonetheless. “I was wondering if you'd like to come play with us.” She said, gesturing to a group of children playing nearby. 

Eva looked over briefly and sighed. “I'm sorry, but I can't.” She said sadly. 

“Why not?” The girl frowned. 

Eva shook her head. “I just can't.” 

Quickly, she hurried away. She wanted to play with the other children, something she'd never been allowed to do before. But she didn't know how, and even if she did, if grandmother was watching she'd be punished. 

She wove through the crowd, until she came to a booth selling something called Christmas pudding. She paused. It smelled of spices, of warmth. She wanted some. She picked up a jar and put it in her basket too, and offered another spool of spun gold as payment. 

Next up, the delicious scent of spiced apple drew her over to a table selling something called apple cider. The vendor offered her a cup and she accepted it, sipping experimentally. It was warm and comforting and she wished Leah was there to try it. As she finished her drink, an idea popped into her head and she put down the cup and dug into her satchel. Soon she withdraws an empty potion bottle, once filled with anti-anxiety potion. Popping off the stopper, she held it out. 

“Could you fill this, please?” 

The man did, and she handed him a copper coin in thanks as she added the bottle to her basket. 

She kept going, tasting shortbread and butter tarts among other things, and buying some to take home to her sister. Soon, her basket was full and she was quite cold, but before she could consider leaving, she became distracted by what must have been a royal carriage. It pulled up at the edge of the market and people crowded around, whispering and chattering in excitement. Eva ducked behind a building to watch, very aware of what kingdom she was in. 

The first out was a young woman, barely more than a girl really, her black hair curled and pale skin flawless. Eva sneered jealously, her own hair dull from malnutrition and her own skin marred with hideous scars. She ripped her eyes away from the princess and studied the king instead. He was old. What was left of his hair was grey and wirey and she could tell he was a selfish man, with eyes only for his daughter. She shifted her gaze to the woman beside him. She was young, too young to be trapped beside him and she was beautiful. Black hair and brown eyes and - Leah. She looked like Leah. She knew who this was. Her jealousy spiked with her realization and she dug her nails into her palms. As she watched, the princess took off ahead and the king followed, dragging the queen beside him with a possessive hand around her arm. She looked closer at the queen, at her mother. Her eyes were dull, and though the bruising was covered by makeup, Eva knew it was there, could tell by the slight swelling around her jaw. 

Perhaps grandmother should hear about this. She thought, as she slipped through the crowd. It wasn't likely she would care, but if she did she would likely send Eva to deal with the king. Eva rather hoped she would, for if she couldn't be free of her own abuser then she could at least free her mother from her's. 

She was already plotting as she watched the royals strut around arrogantly, with the exception of the queen, who followed miserably behind. She might have kept on too, if she hadn't been distracted by something at a nearby booth.

Walking over to take a look, she found a soft plush horse toy. It was sleek black with a blue ribbon around its neck. She picked it up and held it . She had found the perfect gift for Leah. Putting it under her arm, she reached into her satchel once again and pulled out two more gold spools. That was probably more than it was worth but Eva didn't care. She liked to pay well, seeing as she could. She was about to hand them over to the woman working the booth, but jumped suddenly as she felt someone snatch the horse away from her. She spun around, expecting grandmother, but instead found Princess Snow. She was too old for such a thing, but that apparently didn't matter. 

“Oh, Daddy, can I have it, please!” She begged.

Her mother spoke first. “No Snow, you're too old for that, give it back to that little girl -” but she was silenced by the king before she could finish. “Of course, Snow, you can have whatever you desire.”

This infuriated Eva, whose head was bowed to hide her identity. Snow White didn't deserve anything after what she'd done! She looked up, her hood flopping off. She might have been young and small, but she was rather too capable of taking care of herself. 

“Actually.” She snapped. “I had it first.” 

And she snatched her prize straight out of Snow’s hands. 

“Hey!” Snow exclaimed. “That's mine!”

Eva scoffed. “It doesn't have your name on it.”

Snow, rather laughably, stomped her foot. “I'm the princess! If I want it I can have it!” 

She moved to grab it back, but Eva was faster. With her free hand, (she had set down her basket, tucked safely under the booth) she grabbed Snow by the wrist, her sharp little nails digging into her flesh. “Go find someone else to thieve from, you pathetic little brat.” She sneered. 

Suddenly, there was a shadow cast over her and the king grabbed her arm with such force she felt (and heard) the bone snap. Unsurprising really, considering how tiny and physically weak she was. There were several gasps from around her, but she took no notice. Snarling to hide her pain, she yanked herself free of the man and held up her arm, calling on her magic to heal it. 

“You're going to have to try a little bit harder than that to scare _me_.” She sneered. 

She then picked up her basket, placed the toy horse inside and handed the two spools of gold to the vendor. And then she vanished, soft wisps of purple smoke drifting away as she winked out. 


End file.
